The Music Publicists You Don’t Want

When looking to advance your career you will begin to look into hiring a publicist for your band. You want to be picky when you are placing your band into someone else’s hands. Here are a few types of publicists to avoid at all costs when it comes time to pick someone who is right for the job.

The Promiser:

Watch out for these people. Just because they may have gotten one of their clients some really big press, doesn’t mean that you are going to follow directly in their footsteps. You need someone who will be realistic and not promise you the world. You want someone to go to bat for you, but they can’t promise to hit a home run for you every single time. It’s all a sales pitch to grab you by the stars in your eyes. Think with your head and not with your heart (or your wallet’s potential). You want to ask for all of their past experience, good and bad. It allows you to connect better and to see what avenues will actually work for you and your band.

The Jerk:

Sometimes publicists have the thought process that the nice guy finishes last… Being a jerk won’t get you everywhere and it actually could reflect badly on your band. You need to listen to your gut. You want to be comfortable with your PR person because you will be working very closely with them. They need to be someone you can trust with your career.

The Out-Dated:

Okay, everyone has or should have a Twitter and Facebook page. A good publicist should even have a real website. You need someone who is up to date on everything going on in the ever changing world. You can’t be pushing your music to a 1980’s market. You will crash and burn faster than you can fire this person. They need to know how people communicate today, and it just so happens to mainly be through social media.

They Didn’t Listen:

Never trust a publicist who is willing to work with you before they hear your music. How can they possibly be your voice if they have never heard your music? How can they understand what you are about, let alone make anyone else understand. You want someone who stands strong behind your music.

Remember, this is your career. Don’t just trust it in the hands of anyone because the price is right. Do your research and make the right decision based on your needs.